Gain Experience & Travel For Your Sports Career: How to Get Involved With Mega-Events

By: Sydney Large

It’s everyone's dream to work the largest sporting events in the world like the Super Bowl and Final Four. I’m lucky to have been involved in the past three Super Bowls and 2019 Final Four. People frequently ask me how I’ve been able to do it, so I’ve decided to share my secrets. 

With Super Bowl 52 and 2019 Final Four, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Both of these events happened in Minneapolis while I was studying Sports Management at the University of Minnesota. During Super Bowl 52 I was involved with 4 different organizations; Super Bowl Experience, US Bank Stadium, Crew 52, and NFL Honors. 

I’ve continued with Super Bowl Experience moving up with my position each year, starting as an Area Manager, moving to a Zone/Operations Manager, and then moving to the NFL One Pass Coordinator. I’ve been invited back each year, and have also been contracted to work the NFL Combine and Packers Training Camp Experience in the same role. 

During my Freshman and Sophomore year of college, I worked at US Bank Stadium as a Concessions Supervisor through Aramark. This position was a lot of work, but I gained a lot of experience in employee management and working in a really fast paced setting. I was responsible for 7-10 concession stands at the stadium on game days and worked a 20 hour shift there on Super Bowl Sunday. I was also able to be involved with every Vikings home game, various concerts, and the X-Games. This was also my highest paying job in college, and I worked on an event to event basis. To get involved with a stadium, visit their website and career page. There’s a lot of opportunities outside of food service too and usually allow for a flexible schedule. 

The next and easiest way to get involved is through local host committees. Every major city has a sports council which serves as the host committee for mega events. City sports councils are also responsible for other events ranging from golf tournaments to big races, and NCAA events. During my time in Minnesota I was also able to volunteer for the Frozen Four, Final Four, and Super Bowl. During Final Four I was working with the NCAA directly and was connected to them through my University, as it was the host University for the event. It’s important to keep in mind that host committees usually only have volunteer positions. If you reach out to host committee members ahead of time you can usually find a volunteer leadership position, which looks extremely good on a resume and you meet a lot of people in the process. If you can’t afford to travel or work for free and still want to get involved for a week long event, check out staffing agencies. You can reach out to host committees and see what specific staffing agencies they’re using for the event. Staffing agencies provide employees for a lot of different roles ranging from sponsor activation to running kids games. It depends on the event and how the host committee has decided to allocate their resources. These positions are usually hourly, minimum wage positions, however you can usually break even on travel expenses if you budget right. A lot of hourly position usually provide a food voucher too during shifts, so you’ll also be saving on food costs. 

Another way to get involved is reaching out the event sites directly. For example, NFL Honors was happening on campus and they were recruiting students on campus to assist with the event. My role was a talent wrangler, so for the night I was responsible for Kevin Hart being in the right place at the right time. Some of my friends were responsible for Roger Goodell and Odel Beckham Jr. We acted as assistants for the evening and was personally one of the coolest events I’ve been a part of. The majority of events happening surrounding a mega event are hosted outside of the main stadium or arena. Also, the host committee isn’t the only organizing body to host events, there are many businesses that are hosting private parties and events for guests in the area. Many of these are hosted at hotels, large restaurants, and clubs. 

There are so many ways to get involved with mega events and a lot of organizations are looking for help. This process does however start relatively early. I would recommend reaching out to organizations and start planning your trip 6-8 months in advance. If you are traveling to a mega-event I recommend getting your friends involved and working together. You can usually split an Air BnB for much cheaper than a hotel. My friends worked staffing agency positions for Super Bowl 53 and did this and had so much fun! 

If you’re a local or traveling from afar, I highly recommend getting involved in a mega event. It’s such a great experience and you can meet so many different people who will help you in your career later on.